Method of producing translucent panels.



G. R. MBYBROORD.

METHOD} OF PRODUCING TRANSLUGBNT PANELS. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1'7,1910.

1,980,99Q Patented Dec.9,1913

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METHQD 0F ODU dpeclficatlon of Letters tent.

or chicane, rumors.

Application filed August 11,;w10. germ! E39. fi'flfletl.

'whic form a part of this s eciiication.

My invention has for its 0 ject to produce a simple and eficient methodof making flexible, translucent decorative panels or panels carryinginscriptions or legend's;

' such panels being adapted to be used instead of glass.

In accordance with my invention 1 make use of a fine mesh wire screen orother perforated, flexible sheet to form the body of the panel, mount acolored translucent decalcomania film thereon, and cover the whole witha translucent material which enters into the interstices in the screen.

In the accompanying drawing 1 have illustrated a panel under thedifierent conditions which may be encountered during the process ofmaking the same: Figure 1 being a cross section on an exaggerated scaleof a portion of a wire screen after a decalcomania film has been pressedthereon; Fig.

2being a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a defect which often occurs.upon the removal of the pressure from the film; Fig. 3 being a viewsimilar to Figs. 1 and 2 il ustrating the panel shown in Fig. 9 afterthe application of the adhesive coating; and Fig. l bein a sideelevation of a fragment of the compdeted panel on an enlarged scale.

My invention can best be described by referring to the drawing.

ll take an ordinary fine mesh wire screen, indicated at min thedrawiurwand mount upon one Side thereoi a colored, translucent,decalcornania film indicated at I). Wnen the film is mounted, thetransfer sheet is placed between the screen and a soft pad which willyield under pressureand enter the interstices of the screen, carryingportions of the film with it and producin in the film numerous cup-likesections w ich extend into the spaces between the wires, the transfersheet being first made wet by dipping it in water, pouring water over,-it,

. some hard object.

or in eny other usuel mannen lln Fig. 1 l have illustrated three wires(1, a and a and two cup-like film sections 6 and b which extend to thespaces between the wires. The member 6, it will be seen, followsthecurvature of the wires end therefore adheres closely thereto. Anothersimilar section, which may be the section b, for so e reason or othermay not be pressed as snug'v between the wires as the section 6.Therefore, when the pressure upon-the film is removed, and all thestretched portions of the til-m are under a tension tending to restorethem to their normal flat condition, the section b, which is insecurelyheld, will flatten out as indicated at b in F ig. 2. lit is evident thatwhere some of the cup like portions retain their shape while othersflatten out, an uneven irregular surface is prwuced which distorts thedecoration and detracts greatlyirom the appearance of the penel.Furthermore if the panel wereused in this form the film would soon dryand crack and even before this happened itmight be injured by coming incontact with l have found that the iilm may. be protected against injurythrough contact with hard objects and prevented from cracking bycovering the panel with some translucent adhesive substance such asvarnish or shellac, the adhesive substance also filling the intersticesin the screen about the film. The varnish or shellac may be applied invarious ways but-l have found that a peculiar advantage re-' sults fromdipping the screen into the varnish or shellac after the film has beenapplied and then permitting the excess of varnish or shellac to dripfrom the panel. When the panel is dipped the varnish enters into thespaces between the wires and comes in contact with both sides of thefilm. W hen the panel is lifted from. the bath the excess of varnish orshellac begins to run down the same and tends to draw out of theinterstices the small bodies which have collected therein. Now therewill be consid-" erable body of varnish or shellac between the wires aand a and engitge with the film section 5 The film at t is oint, havingreviously been stretched, an also because it is naturally thin andflexible, yields to the pull upon the adhesive body back of it and isdrawn inwardly into substantially its original on -like shape asindicated at b in Fig. 1; t e varnish or shellac being sulfirotted Dec.a, rare.

ciently viscouseto transmit the pull to the film. After the film hasbeen drawn in far enough to make its resistance greater than the tensilestrength of the body of varnish or shellac behind the same, furthermovement thereof will cease and the varnish or shellac will begin to setand harden so as to hold the film in the position into which it has beendrawn. The condition of the parts after the excess of varnish or shellachas been allowed to run off of the panel is illustrated in Fig. 3, therebeing a layer of shellac or varnish G on the front side of the film andthe second layer C extending along the rear sideand filling" the spacesbetween the wires. v

A panel made in accordance with the present invention will be strong,light and flex- .ible;-it will have the appearance of pebbled glassunder transmitted light; and the translucent colored subject will appearin a beau-t tiful glow, the light being uniformly dis- 'tributed byreason of the uniformity in the surface of the film. Furthermore thepanel may be washed in the same way as glass so that it may be keptbright and clean.

What I claim is: f' 1. The procem of making a decorate translucent panelwhich consists in pressing a 'decalcomania film in a dampened condi-vtion upon a wire screen so as to cause the film to stretch into cuplikesections extending into the interstices of the screen, and

then applying an excess of varnish to the.

screen before the film dries and allowing the surplus of varnish to runofi.

2. The processof making a decorated translucent panel which consists inpressing a decalcomania film in a dampened condition upon a wire screenso asto causethe film to stretch into cup-like sections extending intothe interstices of the screen, and then dipv ping the screen in varnishor shellac and holding it so as to permit the excess of varnishor-shellac to run ofi'.

3. The process of making a decorated translucent panel which consists inpressing a decalcomania film upon a wire screen so as to cause the filmto stretch into cup-like sections extending between the wires of thescreen, and then dipping the screen in varnish or shellac before thefilm'becomes hard and dry and permitting the excess of varnish orshellac to run off so as to restore the cup-like configurations of anysections.

